Q: iPhone 4S drops 3G, have to restart phone to get it back

I thought I'd post my unusal experience with this aweful problem just in case it helps anyone who is desparate to try something unorthodox; or clues anyone tecnhical in to the cause of the problem. It's a bit unusual but a few months back ( after a new replacement phone exhibited the exact same problem and i was starting to blame by provider ) I was getting angry with my provider for how they were not deailing with this problem and to cut a long story short I wouldnt pay and they cut me off. ( could still receive but not send ) ... then after a week or something I thought better of this and paid the balance and my service was restored ... but here's the kicker ... this problem has completely vanished since and I haven't changed any other factors that i'm aware of.

Louis, if you're in the US, T-Mobile isn't even an "officially" supported carrier. You should expect service to be near worthless. If you live outside the US, you probably have a valid issue.

Hi,

I have a similar problem. I here in Malaysia on a 3G network. This happened only recently after a year of using the 4S. When the 3G signal is out, then the phone does not regain the 3G automatically as per usuall. The only way to regain the 3G is to reboot it. Turning the airplane mode on & off does not work for me. Its trublesome as I do not get my emails & app messages. Anyone has a fix for this or its a lost cause i.e. time to get a new phone. I could have continued griping but I am a paid customer, if this cant be resolved. I will spend my money elsewhere.... Once bitten twice shy...

I still have the 3G icon drop and disappear, on T-Mobile network in the UK, even after updating to iOS7.

I have completed all resets, replaced the simm with a newer 4G aware simm and still finding the 3G just goes off, and only a hard reset brings it back.  The fact it's happening across the globe it has to be the phone. Come on Apple, whats the fix?

After a week of frustration, I have upgraded my data package with my service provider - Movistar in Spain.  Apparently they have made some changes to their "system" !!!  They did this at the beginning of September and didnt tell anyone - now you need a bigger data package - I upped mine to 2GB per month (max I can have with movistar) and it seems to be working fine at the moment - hope this helps someone!

I have updated to iOS7, so far the problem is resolved.